The Four Kings are one of the four Lord Soul holders bosses in Dark Souls Remastered. Getting to this boss is already quite convoluted, and facing them is just as painful. There are many things to consider when going up against this boss, and you might want to tweak your fighting strategy to a more unorthodox method to counter their unique gimmick.
In this boss guide, we’ll go over everything related to the Four Kings in Dark Souls Remastered. There are a ton of tips, tricks, and strategies to review, so let’s just dive into it.
Fighting Four Kings in Dark Souls Remastered
First things first, you need to go through New Londo Ruins, acquire the Key to the Seal from Ingward, and drain the water from the ruins. You’ll also need the Covenant of Artorias ring after defeating Great Grey Wolf Sif and wear it to survive the Abyss, the boss’s arena.
After you drop down to the arena, the whole place will be a black void with no ground or walls. Soon, the boss’s health bar will appear, but he might not be right before you. Spin the camera around to spot the boss and quickly close the distance. The depth perception of this arena is skewed, making it harder to discern the distance from the boss.
Initially, the Four Kings will only be a single King; however, more will spawn as the fight progresses. They are all clones of each other with no difference in looks or attacks.
The King is a weird giant humanoid thing that’s all mutated. He has bark-like growth all over. They have a massive sword in their right hand, and their left hand is turned into a bark-covered wing.
They have a bunch of lethal sword swings for melee, purple magic projectiles when you are at range, and a couple of special attacks that could make quick work of you. Every attack hits like a truck, so you better be prepared for this fight.
The Four Kings boss fight is considered one of the hardest in Dark Souls Remastered, especially on NG+. This is because of the multiple copies of the Kings gimmick that keeps spawning on a timer. They could easily gang up on you if you are not quick enough to dispatch them.
Here are some things to consider when going up against Four Kings in Dark Souls Remastered:
- They are weak to Lightning and Fire damage. Buff your weapon with Gold Pine Resin to exploit this weakness.
- They are immune to Poison, Toxic, and Bleed.
- Each King spawns in around 40 seconds, and four kings can be present in the arena at the same time.
- Although each King has individual HP, the Four Kings share a health bar.
- Divine weapons deal extra damage to individual Kings. This means you can kill a single King faster with a Divine weapon, although the overall health pool will not reflect this additional damage.
- You can continue to deal damage to a dying King before he fully vanishes.
- Even summoned players must wear the Covenant of Artorias ring to help fight this boss.
- You’ll die immediately if you unequip the Covenant of Artorias ring in the middle of the boss fight.
- Weirdly enough, the farther you are from the King, the more damage you’ll receive from their attacks. Standing close to the King will significantly reduce the damage received.
- Boosting stamina regeneration goes a long way in this fight. Green Blossom, Cloranthy Ring, Grass Crest Shield, and Mask of the Child will greatly help.
- You can only summon Witch Beatrice to help you in this fight if you summoned her for the Moonlight Butterfly fight.
Boss Strategy
The first thing to remember is the presence of extra Kings. Stay vigilant about your surroundings to prevent any additional Kings from sneaking up on you. Aim to eliminate each King swiftly so you’re not forced to contend with more than two at a time.
Staying close to the King you are engaged with typically prevents other Kings from attacking you, though you should still position your target between you and any other Kings.
For blocking, use a shield with high magic resistance, or opt for large shields like Havel’s Greatshield, Cleansing Greatshield, or Stone Greatshield. Always shield against their magic attacks and avoid tanking them, as they inflict significant damage.
First, equip your best weapon and ensure you’re two-handing it for maximum damage output. Use the Grass Crest Shield, but equip it on your back to benefit from the stamina regeneration buff. This is crucial, as this fight is a DPS check; you must defeat the Kings quickly without wasting time.
If your weapon isn’t upgraded significantly, I recommend farming to enhance it as much as possible.
While many suggest high poise and heavy armor sets like Havel’s, I believe fast rolling is more vital than poise. High poise isn’t necessary against the Four Kings, and here’s why: they deal more damage the farther you are from them.
Standing right beside them reduces the damage you take, where the tip of the sword delivers severe damage while the hilt does very little. Thus, you should stand near their arms and continuously spam your attacks.
If you wield a fast weapon, such as a dexterity-based one, feel free to roll away from their attacks since you have ample time to evade. However, if you’re using a slower weapon like a Zweihander, rolling may be less beneficial; instead, absorb their hits and heal when your health drops below 50.
Continue damaging injured Kings while they are in their death animation for extra damage.
If dodging their attacks proves challenging, try rolling left or right instead of back and forth. It can be challenging to avoid grabs when you’re close, so if you get caught, don’t panic; heal as soon as you can.
When facing two Kings at once, focus on one to turn the battle into a one-on-one as much as possible; this strategy simplifies the fight tremendously.
Moveset
Four Kings has the following moveset and how you are supposed to react to each of his attacks in Dark Souls Remastered. Do note that when more kings are present in the arena, they’ll use these simultaneously, making it harder to read and react to incoming attacks:
| Attack | Description | Reaction |
| Dual Horizontal Swipes | He rears his sword and performs a wide-arcing sword swipe from left to right and again in the opposite direction. He might stop after the first swipe. | Only a single swipe should be blocked by a shield, as it drains a lot of stamina. You can dodge under both the swipes. |
| Overhead Slash | He pulls his sword back and unleashes it with a vertical overhead slash. | Don’t try to block this attack. Instead, roll to the side right before it reaches you. |
| Sword Thrust | He prepares the attack and thrusts his sword, pointing forward. The thrust’s range is surprisingly long. Usually performed when you are at a distance. | Blocking is possible, but the damage might still clip through. Try to dodge to the side before it connects. |
| Diagonal Double Slash | He rears his sword and performs two diagonal sword slashes from each side. | Both attacks will consume all of the stamina to block. It’s better to block one slash and roll into the other. |
| AoE | He spins around and wraps himself with his wing while purple smoke starts rising from him. After some delay, he’ll unleash a devastating magic AoE explosion around him. | Blocking is only possible with a sturdy shield with good magic defenses. Otherwise, turn around and run to get out of the explosion range. |
| Fast Magic Projectiles | He’ll quickly spin and fire multiple magic arrows from both sides. These arrows will then quickly home in on you. | They can be blocked with a good magic shield, but they deal significant stamina/HP damage if they all land. Or, better to roll right before they are about to hit you. |
| Slow Magic Projectile | He slashes his sword and summons a diagonal arcing magic projectile that slowly moves towards you. It has pinpoint tracking. It will vanish after some traveling. | It can only be blocked by a high-stability shield with high magic resistance. Even then, it will consume your entire stamina and deal some damage. There is no way to dodge this projectile so its best to turn and start running until it disappears. |
| Grab Attack | He spins around just like before his AoE attack, then dashes forward while holding his purple-glowing hand forward. If it hits, he will grab you and deal a ton of damage while stealing your Humanity. | Try to move in next to him when he charges this attack. Chances are he’ll dash over you and miss the grab. If other players are aiding you, they can continue attacking the boss and deal damage while he is stuck in animation. |
Note: While up to four Kings can be present during the battle, only one will confront the player directly. The only time the others attack; when you are near the passive ones, they’ll use their sword-based attacks, and when you are farther away from them, they’ll cast their magic projectile attacks.
Rewards for Defeating Four Kings
Dethroning the Four Kings will drop the following rewards for you in Dark Souls Remastered:
- 60,000 Souls
- 4x Humanity
- Bequeathed Lord Soul Shard – Used to rekindle the Lordvessel in Firelink Shrine.
You might want to change things up a little when facing the Four Kings in New Game+ in Dark Souls Remastered. The boosted health of each King will make it a hassle to take them out before the subsequent one spawns in. You must be at the top of your game at this point to stand a chance against him.